Gym’Backs finish fourth at NCAA Regional meet

BY ANDRES FOCIL

Jump to agate DURHAM, NH – The 15th-ranked University of Arkansas gymnastics team finished fourth at the 2005 NCAA Northeast Regional in Durham, N.H., Saturday, qualifying their firstathlete for the 2005 NCAA Championship in Auburn, Ala. Junior all-arounder Dana McQuillin finished the meet with a 38.750 tying for sixth place overall qualifing for the 2005 NCAA Championship in Auburn, Ala., April 21-23. Arkansas, the three seed in the event, fell behind early struggling with low scores on both the floor and bars finishing behind third-ranked LSU who won the event. Arkansas posted 193.95 trailing the Tigers who won the meet with a 197.125 to advance to the NCAA Championship at Auburn, Ala., in two weeks. Tenth-ranked Oklahoma was second with 195.550, followed by host New Hampshire who had its best meet of the season with a 194.700. Pittsburgh was fifth with a 193.100 and Rutgers rounded out the team scoring posting a 191.350. “We’re very disappointed,” said co-head coach Rene Cook after the meet. “We have such high expectations for this team and we really thought we could do better than a fourth place finish. We are, however, very happy for Dana. She did what she had to tonight.” Arkansas opened the meet on the floor jumping out of the gate with a 48.875 paced by a pair of 9.80s from junior Katie Hardman and freshman Samantha Cortez. Freshman Mallory Machnik added a 9.775 with tight scoring in the first rotation. Third-ranked LSU began the meet on bars scoring a 49.050 while No. 10 Oklahoma opened on the beam with a 48.225. Rutgers added a 47.325 on vault while the other two teams had a bye in the first round. The Gym’Backs moved on to the vault where scores were a bit low for Arkansas ending in a 48.225 on the event. The score matched Arkansas’ Southeastern Conference Championship vault total and was paced by freshman Samantha Cortez who tallied a 9.775. Junior Dana McQuillin broke out a new vault she had been working on that had a 10.0 start vault in an attempt to make up for junior Audra Loveless’ absence on the apparatus. Loveless suffered a season-ending injury the week of the conference meet and was unable to compete. McQuillin’s vault garnered a 9.575 as did sophomore Rachel Barnett’s performance. Machnik added a 9.70 while sophomore Cassie Drew counted a 9.60 for the Gym’Backs. Arkansas had a bye in the third rotation and found itself in third place after the break. The Gym’Backs trailed LSU who had a 98.2 and Oklahoma who rallied on floor and jumped into second with a 97.575 followed by the Gym’Backs with a 97.1. Host New Hampshire was fourth with a 96.750, followed by Pittsburgh with 96.600 and Rutgers at 95.125. The Gym’Backs literally fell apart on bars in the fourth rotation. After a solid start from McQuillin, the next two Gym’Backs fell forcing Arkansas to count a low score. Junior Melissa Leigh rebounded with a 9.825 rekindling Arkansas’ spirits. Leigh’s mark was good to tie for fifth overall. Freshman Emily Peacock added to the spark with a flawless routine that earned her a 9.875 for a 48.025 on bars but Arkansas trailed OU 146.60-145.125 heading into the final rotation. The Gym’Backs moved to the beam, the team’s best event, while Oklahoma had a bye before finishing the meet on bars. Peacock finished tied for second overall. The Gym’Backs moved on to the beam opening with a 9.70 from Peacock followed by a 9.75 from Barnett. Drew earned a 9.80 as the third Gym’Back on the beam and all-arounder McQuillin added a 9.775. Hardman, arguably Arkansas’ best beam worker, finished with a 9.80 for a 48.825 giving Arkansas 193.95 McQuillin finished sixth overall in the all-around competition with a 38.750 for the Gym’Backs. The third-place finish ends the season for the Gym’Backs. For more information about Arkansas gymnastics, log on to LADYBACKS.COM. 2005 NCAA Northeast RegionalDurham, N.H.Whittemore Center ArenaSaturday, April 09, 2005Team Results